Children raised in substance abusing families show high rates of behavioura
l and emotional problems, in particular oppositional, defiant and non-compl
iant behaviours. While a range of social and individual factors correlate w
ith poor parenting, it is often the quality of the parent-child relationshi
p that mediates the effects of most other risk factors on child development
. By addressing this relationship using behavioural family interventions, c
hild behaviour problems have been reduced in multiple problem families. How
ever, there has been little attempt to systematically evaluate such program
s in substance abusing families. It is argued that methadone replacement pr
ograms provide a window of opportunity to deliver well-validated parent tra
ining programs that enhance the quality of parent-child relations. However,
it is likely that such programs would need to be medium to long term and a
ddress issues beyond parent child relationships. How such interventions may
be delivered and evaluated is discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland
Ltd. All rights reserved.